THE first minister of Wales has called for the Labour Party to help rebuild the UK after it “suffered a serious injury” in the Scottish independence referendum last week.

Carwyn Jones AM toldok to the stage at Labour’s annual conference in Manchester and told Labour supporters that only his party could deliver “an equal share of resources, a seat at the table (and) a powerful parliament” for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

He said he was delighted by last week’s result which saw 55 per cent of Scots vote to stay part ofin the UK but warned that a “sticking plaster” will not help fix the Union.

He told the conference: “I campaigned alongside many of you here today to keep our four nations together, and now together we must make good our promise to rebuild the United Kingdom.

“That cannot be done through a bilateral conversation between Westminster and Scotland. After all, David Cameron tried that and was so badly outwitted by Alex Salmond that he almost lost the Union. As Gordon Brown has said, the old days of Westminster sovereignty are over.”

Mr Jones added that not everyone who voted yes in Scotland is a nationalist and that parties that champion independence are finding support because people are “fed up ofwith what they see as the status quo”.

He said this view will harden if the Labour Party fails to honour its promise to rebuild the UK. He added: “The Union has suffered a serious injury and a sticking plaster won’t do.

“And if you need proof the polls show that it was those over 65 who saved the Union in Scotland.

“We need to convince the younger generation that their future lies with us. We need to see the Wales Bill delivered, the recommendations of Part Two of the Silk Commission on further power taken forward and a constitutional convention to address the future structure of the UK.

“I know Ed Miliband gets this. That’s why he’s promised to address the historic under-funding of Wales.

“That’s why, when he came to Wales earlier this year, he promised a new Wales Bill that give us a reserved powers model of devolution that will end the tug of war between Whitehall and Wales.”

Mr Jones said the Welsh Labour Government was already making a difference using its devolved powers to reduce waitinglist times in the NHS, increase GCSE grades and reduce unemployment for young people.

He added: “In Wales we believe in reform of our public services, not their systematic destruction. In Wales we value our public services, we don’t vandalise them.

“But, there’s more we can do and o. There’s more we want to do and too often the confusion of our constitution gets in our way.

“Our new Union can only be shaped by a convention of all four nations. Wales stands ready.”